A blog for students of Professor Kagan's internet course to comment and highlight class topics. From the various channels for marketing on the internet, to multimedia and e-commerce business models, anything related to the class is fair game.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

AppStore Optimization vs SEO

One of the first few concepts we
learned in class is SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which I covered under the
post SEO
Trend in 2017. While researching ways to promote dwindl, a personal entertainment recommendation mobile app, I found
similar concept to SEO that is specific for mobile apps i.e. ASO (App Store
Optimization). ASO is technique to ensure that a mobile app meets App Store
ranking criteria and rises to the top of search result page. While this
definition is very similar to SEO, ASO has additional parameters that it can
optimize to achieve different purpose than SEO. So how is ASO different than
SEO? The table below compares the aspects of SEO and ASO.

In summary, the ultimate goal of
ASO is to drive app downloads, which is the key difference with SEO. Keywords
and links are important in both ASO and SEO; however, ASO also focuses on elements
of the “app front-page” such as logo, description, screenshots, which play
crucial role in determining conversion.

Indeed, ASO is also an iterative
process similar to SEO. This is thanks to both the continually evolving ranking
algorithms and the competitive nature of the App Store. Thus, a successful ASO
strategy requires proper measurement, analytics, and regular check-ins. If you
can manage this, your investment will surely pay off. I hope this blog post
clarifies the proper strategy of optimization in the App Store.